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Dude Cervantes and The Panchos play every show like it's the last show on earth
Live album is "a barnburner of a record"
Daniel Cervantes is a San Diego-born guitarist for bands such as Mrs. Henry, Howlin’ Rain, and Chest Fever. A singer-songwriter, record producer, and label owner, he's also a solo recording artist known as Dude Cervantes. If you were to compare his backing group The Panchos to another notable band, it would probably be Neil Young’s Crazy Horse. That’s what Dude says, anyway. His latest record, a concert album called The Ride or Die of Dude Cervantes and The Panchos, was just released on November 28. As he navigate through the sound space wearing his various hats, he found himself recording the new live album at a gig The Panchos were playing at Los Angeles’s Hotel Café in April 2023.
Randomly, the recording happened during the last show of a four-show Southern California run the band put together in their first outing. “It was just one of those odd nights,” says Cervantes, “where it just happened to be that they [Hotel Café] offered to record it, and I said, ‘Sure, why not? We’ll do it.’ It was a hell of a night. It was one of those no guts no glory, throw everything at the wall and make sure it sticks kind of vibes. I’ve always had the spirit of playing every show like it’s the last show on earth, and this was just kind of gonzo or as balls to the wall as we could get. It turned into a pretty barnburner record.”
Other members of The Panchos include guitarist Dylan Donovan (Sacri Monti), drummer Justin de la Vega (Warish), and Ryan Grenda on bass and backing vocals). “All around, all the dudes in The Panchos are absolute sweethearts,” says Cervantes, “and total rippers on their instruments.” A single was recently released featuring the band’s cover version of the Santana classic, "Samba Pa Ti."
Video:
Dude Cervantes and Los Panchos: "Samba Pa Ti"
How did the group come together? Cervantes explains that he started playing with de la Vega and Grenda while doing his “Cervantes” solo act, “Then it just kind of evolved into asking Dylan Donovan. I’ve always been such a big fan of Dylan as a guitarist. I’ve known him since about 2015. When I first heard him in his band Sacri Monti, I thought he was amazing. It’s two guitars, drums, and bass. It’s about as rock ‘n’ roll as you can get.”
Then in 2021, Cervantes asked Donovan to be a part of the band that played at his wedding. But a couple years before that day, Cervantes and his soon-to-be wife took a fateful trip to Utah’s Bryce Canyon. The trip would eventually inspire the band’s single “Lesson Learned,” which is a part of the new live album.
After getting a late start on the road, Cervantes and his companion were looking for their Bryce Canyon AirBnB somewhere around 1:30 am. When their hybrid car bottomed out on a rock, something hit the battery and it died instantly. With no reception and a window left down by their dog Elvis, the couple found themselves stranded in the wilderness on a below-freezing night. “The lesson learned was you probably shouldn’t go looking for an AirBnB at 1:30 in the morning on a dirt road with a hybrid vehicle. If you’re going to do that, you better have a four-wheel-drive and some blankets and a lot of water. So, plenty of lessons to pick from.”
When they finally got to the hotel the next morning, “All of our clothes were completely dirty. We were exhausted. I just picked up my guitar at eight in the morning and started playing that song.” Cervantes proposed a month later. The story represents ethos of the whole “Ride or Die” aspect of the record.
This past May, Cervantes relocated with his wife to Nashville, Tennessee. But he notes that he went to the same high school as another artist who left town: Cameron Crowe (University of San Diego High School). “My roots are in San Diego,” he says. “San Diego will always be my hometown, so I’m stoked to come back at the year’s end to play.”
Here's something you might be interested in.
Dude Cervantes and The Panchos play every show like it's the last show on earth
Live album is "a barnburner of a record"
Dude Cervantes and The Panchos play every show like it's the last show on earth
Live album is "a barnburner of a record"
Daniel Cervantes is a San Diego-born guitarist for bands such as Mrs. Henry, Howlin’ Rain, and Chest Fever. A singer-songwriter, record producer, and label owner, he's also a solo recording artist known as Dude Cervantes. If you were to compare his backing group The Panchos to another notable band, it would probably be Neil Young’s Crazy Horse. That’s what Dude says, anyway. His latest record, a concert album called The Ride or Die of Dude Cervantes and The Panchos, was just released on November 28. As he navigate through the sound space wearing his various hats, he found himself recording the new live album at a gig The Panchos were playing at Los Angeles’s Hotel Café in April 2023.
Randomly, the recording happened during the last show of a four-show Southern California run the band put together in their first outing. “It was just one of those odd nights,” says Cervantes, “where it just happened to be that they [Hotel Café] offered to record it, and I said, ‘Sure, why not? We’ll do it.’ It was a hell of a night. It was one of those no guts no glory, throw everything at the wall and make sure it sticks kind of vibes. I’ve always had the spirit of playing every show like it’s the last show on earth, and this was just kind of gonzo or as balls to the wall as we could get. It turned into a pretty barnburner record.”
Other members of The Panchos include guitarist Dylan Donovan (Sacri Monti), drummer Justin de la Vega (Warish), and Ryan Grenda on bass and backing vocals). “All around, all the dudes in The Panchos are absolute sweethearts,” says Cervantes, “and total rippers on their instruments.” A single was recently released featuring the band’s cover version of the Santana classic, "Samba Pa Ti."
Video:
Dude Cervantes and Los Panchos: "Samba Pa Ti"
How did the group come together? Cervantes explains that he started playing with de la Vega and Grenda while doing his “Cervantes” solo act, “Then it just kind of evolved into asking Dylan Donovan. I’ve always been such a big fan of Dylan as a guitarist. I’ve known him since about 2015. When I first heard him in his band Sacri Monti, I thought he was amazing. It’s two guitars, drums, and bass. It’s about as rock ‘n’ roll as you can get.”
Then in 2021, Cervantes asked Donovan to be a part of the band that played at his wedding. But a couple years before that day, Cervantes and his soon-to-be wife took a fateful trip to Utah’s Bryce Canyon. The trip would eventually inspire the band’s single “Lesson Learned,” which is a part of the new live album.
After getting a late start on the road, Cervantes and his companion were looking for their Bryce Canyon AirBnB somewhere around 1:30 am. When their hybrid car bottomed out on a rock, something hit the battery and it died instantly. With no reception and a window left down by their dog Elvis, the couple found themselves stranded in the wilderness on a below-freezing night. “The lesson learned was you probably shouldn’t go looking for an AirBnB at 1:30 in the morning on a dirt road with a hybrid vehicle. If you’re going to do that, you better have a four-wheel-drive and some blankets and a lot of water. So, plenty of lessons to pick from.”
When they finally got to the hotel the next morning, “All of our clothes were completely dirty. We were exhausted. I just picked up my guitar at eight in the morning and started playing that song.” Cervantes proposed a month later. The story represents ethos of the whole “Ride or Die” aspect of the record.
This past May, Cervantes relocated with his wife to Nashville, Tennessee. But he notes that he went to the same high school as another artist who left town: Cameron Crowe (University of San Diego High School). “My roots are in San Diego,” he says. “San Diego will always be my hometown, so I’m stoked to come back at the year’s end to play.”
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